US aircraft will continue to fly over the Black Sea as the area is part of international waters, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on December 20.
At the press conference, which was broadcast in Twitter the American military department, he specified that this decision is due to “the continuing concern of the United States of the significant military presence of Russia near the border with Ukraine.”
“We will continue to fly and walk where international law allows us to do so,” Kirby told reporters.
The spokesman for the US Department of Defense also noted that the Black Sea is part of international waters.
At the same briefing, Kirby told reporters that a team of Pentagon officials had visited Ukraine to discuss the country’s air defense needs.
Earlier, on December 16, it was reported that Italian, Romanian and American fighters arrived in Romania to “strengthen NATO’s presence” in the Black Sea region.
On December 9, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, announced that the US strategic aviation had increased the number of flights near Russia’s eastern borders. He noted that the Americans are training cruise missile launches.
The day before, Russian Su-27s had escorted French Rafale and Mirage-2000 warplanes in the skies over the Black Sea.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova, the actions of the US Air Force created a threat to civil aviation. She stressed that if in this case the catastrophe was averted, this does not mean that the United States and NATO can risk the lives of people with impunity.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
